Arpeggios For the Evolving Guitarist and Fretboard Mastery Book Review

By: Dr. Matt Warnock

The University of Southern California’s guitar program has long been recognized as one of the top destinations for up and coming guitarists who are looking for a formal, university education. With a faculty that resembles a who’s who of the guitar industry, it’s no wonder why the school has been able to grow to the magnitude that it has reached today. It is therefore no surprise that the school has recently teamed up with guitar publishing powerhouse Mel Bay to release a series of books written by USC guitar faculty members.

While the partnership is still in its infancy, if the first two books are any indication of things to come, then guitarists all over the world are in for a treat as they will be able to learn from the experience and cumulative knowledge of one of the top guitar faculties on the planet.

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Fingerboard Mastery: Scales & Arpeggios Book One

By: Frank Potenza & Nick Stoubis

The first book in the Fingerboard Mastery series, Fingerboard Mastery: Scales and Arpeggios is a straight to the point, easy to understand and highly practical approach to learning the major scale, major modes, relative minor and pentatonic scales as well as triads and four-note arpeggios. Revolving around two fingering systems, the CAGED system (where scale and arpeggio fingerings are related to the open chords C, A, G, E and D) and three-note-per-string patterns.

With a wide variety of scale and arpeggio fingerings out there to focus on, some readers might think that eliminating a large number of these options would limit the book’s scope and relevance, but this is not the case. By focusing on two main fingerings to work through these fundamental melodic sounds, Potenza and Stoubis have taken a lot of the guesswork and confusion out of learning scales, triads and arpeggios. Presenting fewer options allows the authors to connect everything in the book, from chords to scales to triads and finally arpeggios, in an easy to understand fashion that perfectly leads the reader from start to finish.

As well as providing easy to read diagrams for all of the musical material and examples presented in this volume, the authors have also provided helpful practice tips, such as how to practice scales for maximum efficiency and learning the notes on the neck, as well as providing readers with exercises such as the “Finger Stretch System,” which shows readers how to practice all twelve keys of a scale and/or mode in one position.

Though there is not a ton of writing to go along with the musical notation, these tips and exercises go a long way in helping to lock down these fingerings in any players’ hands. As well, by not overloading the book with theory and writing, the authors have again removed a lot of the confusion that arises from other books and allowed the focus to remain firmly on the material at hand, something that guitarists of all levels and backgrounds will no doubt enjoy.

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Arpeggios for the Evolving Guitarist

By: Pat Kelley

With so much focus put on learning scales, guitarists often overlook the importance of getting a solid arpeggio foundation under their fingers. USC professor, and world-renowned jazz guitarist, Pat Kelley is looking to shine a bigger light on these sometimes lesser known, but just as important, musical fundamentals in his book Arpeggios for the Evolving Guitarist. As was the case with Potenza’s and Stoubis’ book, Kelley breaks down a large amount of information into a small, easy to digest chunk, which focus on six basic chord patterns, Major 7, Minor 7, Dominant 7, Half-Diminished, Diminished and Major 7 #5.

By choosing to teach advanced concepts, such as Slash Chords, Chord Synonyms, Arpeggio Combinations and Modal Approaches, through these six patterns, Kelley is taking a ton of guesswork and confusion out of the learning process. Again, this seems to be a theme that runs through the new USC-Mel Bay books, and it is one that is so successful that one only hopes will continue in future volumes.

Besides being a purely technical manual, as was the case in the Fingerboard Mastery book, Kelley’s book lays out practical fingerings for each arpeggio and applicable concept, but also presents these concepts and sounds in real-life situations. By leading the reader through 2-5-1 chord progressions, with arpeggio patterns, adding embellishments to each fingering including enclosures and four-note enclosures, as well as summing up the book with a four-chorus solos titled “Pat Kelly’s Minor Blues,” the experienced jazz guitarist is digging deep into his musical vocabulary and showing readers quickly and easily how they too can apply these concepts to a musical situation, which is the goal of any student of the instrument.

For those guitarists who prefer to learn by ear, or at least have an audio file for reference, there is a handy CD that accompanies the book, containing 17 tracks of musical examples to aid in the learning process. Not only is the CD a great reference for the techniques presented in the book, but it gives the reader a concrete example of how Kelley sounds when he puts these arpeggios to use. A welcomed addition that readers of all levels and backgrounds will enjoy.